I’ve become braver with age!
So far, in life, as far as I know there is only one creature I have a fear of, and that is daddy longlegs....craneflies. In spite of my sister @alisparkes writing an amazing series of books about them (the SWITCH series, available here https://www.amazon.co.uk/S-W-I-T-C-H-5.../dp/0192729365) which sadly did nothing to allay my collywobbles. The actual point of this post, which is, in my mind MONUMENTAL, is that I, today, at the age of 54 years and 345 days, channelled my inner dad (thanks Dad), gently picked up a cranefly, and put it, intact, yes all legs still attached, out of the window to fly free! I know that you probably can't believe that I would be the type of person to run screaming from the sight of a spindly pathetic cranefly, but believe me I would. But not anymore, well possibly not. It all started when I was 11 and I ran out into the playing fields at school, right at the start of a new term. On the way across the field, I tripped on a tussock, and fell, face first, down into the grass, disturbing a whole load of craneflies who were happily waiting for me to land! They flew into my face, hair, clothes and I completed freaked out. I never really dealt with it from then on. A bit of science: Adult crane flies emerge from the soil beneath turfgrass, pastures and other grassy areas in late summer and autumn/fall. The adults have very long legs and resemble large mosquitoes, but don’t have any biting parts thank goodness, sheesh that would hurt! Females mate and lay eggs in grass within 24 hours of emerging. Sadly for them they don’t live very long (not sadly for me). I’m hoping to have a different view of them now that I feel I have a better handle of it (pardon the pun!) Now all I have to do is get the bleedin' cricket out of the house! cheep cheep cheep.
